Question about Tinnitus and or possible ear infections?

All I can tell you is I got tinnitus six months ago. I know it was from stress because the buzzing gets Much louder if something stressful happens. Since they buzz 24 hrs a day I rarely notice it. I have had no discomfort from it at all. Tinnitus means ringing in the ears; not infection.
Most doctors believe there is no cure. And they don’t know why it starts. Between those two facts, I can see how a doctor would talk “infection” instead of saying, “Oh; tinnitus. Sorry; I have nothing to help you at all, I don’t know why it started and you could have it the rest of your life.” Doctors don’t like to talk like that. But it’s all true.
As far as the jaw popping goes , there may be no connection. I have always heard that jaw popping is something you tell a dentist. Not an ENT. Just watch out for over treatment. Jaw popping can be quite temporary and I don’t think you’d want a dentist realigning your jaw this soon .

hey thanks, it’s not jaw popping, but when i move my jaw i get pops in my ears…. it’s all weird, i dont think it’s an infection – i havn’t had really bad sinus issues or anything!

but thank you

No, it doesn’t sound like Tinnitis. That’s ringing in the ears—or some type noise only you hear; sometimes it sounds like crickets. It doesn’t cause soreness of the ear or your other symptoms and it’s not any type virus or bacteria. It can be caused by exposure to very loud noises or mini strokes/strokes and I’m sure other things. Your symptoms sound more like TMJ. The ENT is the right direction. I’m not a doctor so this is just an educated guess. I do have Tinnitis and one of my daughters had TMJ.. The other answerer was correct that you should see a dentist too.

Hi, I’m an Audiologist;

There have been many questions about tinnitus on Fluther… feel free to browse through them.

The ringing in your ears is tinnitus, and it is probably related to noise exposure, and may be an early sign of hearing loss. I recommend that you have a comprehensive audiological evaluation and ask about options to reduce further ear damage from loud sounds, which will decrease your hearing and increase your tinnitus.

The pressure and popping sensations are probably Eustachian tube dysfunction, and may be due to sinus/nasal congestion from allergies or a cold… it may even be the final stages of having the fluid in your ears drain – which can take as long as 6–8 weeks.

If you do go for an Audiological Evaluation, they should perform a tympanogram, which measures the pressure in the middle ear space. This will indicate whether there is still fluid or if it is just air pressure.

When a person with tinnitus has a blockage of sound from an ear infection or Eustachian tube dysfunction, or even ear wax buildup, they perceive the tinnitus as being louder. However, this is generally a perceptual shift, because they are hearing less of the ambient noise, so the ringing seems louder relative to that. This is the same reason why most people complain that the tinnitus is louder at night.

Mine isn’t louder at night. It’s louder when I get stressed. Six mos of this. Never have had earwax.
No cure. Or…do You know a cure?

@Aster -
Tinnitus is a symptom like headaches or fever are symptoms… you don’t “cure” them, you treat the causes and hopefully cure them, and the symptoms are diminished or resolve completely. For example: if a headache is caused by dehydration or tension, a couple aspirin and some water will “cure” it… but if it’s caused by a tumor in the brain, then there may not be a “cure”.

Tinnitus can be caused by many things, but we still do not know the exact mechanisms of tinnitus because the structures in the ear are so microscopic and shielded that we can not even see them without dissecting them and using an electron microscope – and that can only be done once someone is dead (FYI – there are scientists who are asking people with ear and hearing issues to donate their temporal regions to science after they die, in hopes to find some kind of patterns between those with certain conditions and those without).

High blood pressure is correlated with tinnitus, so if yours is louder when stressed, that’s probably why. Stress and anxiety often are related, and we find that anxious people are more likely to be bothered by their symptoms than people who are more not anxiety-prone. So it will help to learn how to better manage your stress, as well as making sure your blood pressure and other levels are normal or under consistent treatment if needed.

Please go through the other posts relating to tinnitus, as I have discussed products and programs for tinnitus elsewhere.

@hearkat Thank you . I wonder why I never had this until earlier this year? I guess the stress level was just too much for me; in fact, I know it was thinking back on my other dreadful symptoms that resolved. but this one never resolved

Such things as stress and aging and hearing loss tend to be progressive… that’s why it didn’t start until earlier this year. None of us is getting any younger, and you can’t undo damage to the ears, either.

@hearkat thanks; you made my day .
I can hear a pin drop or a mouse burp at ¼ mile. But if a teenager is talking at Warp Speed I may not understand .